Sampson honors the fallen

The spirit of service to one’s nation, and at times giving everything that can be given in the doing have long been honored in Clinton and Sampson County as a whole, and the place of pride which that spirit of service and sacrifice are held yet still today was readily apparent at the Veteran’s Council Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, May 26. Even with the weather being uncooperative, the patriots running the show for the Veteran’s Council and Veteran Service Office in Sampson County remained undeterred and moved their Memorial Day Service into the old National Guard Armory, an admittedly fitting recovery.

Asked about turnout in attendance, Ann Knowles, director of the county’s Veteran Service Office, positively beamed. “Well I printed out more than a hundred of these,” she noted while offering her own copy to share, “…and we’ve just about given them all out, so I’d say that’s a good sign there’s more than a hundred of us here today!”

At least two dozen people stood at the back of those seated, including the members of Boy Scout Troop 133.

The keynote speaker for the service, Colonel Jon S. Pendell, who currently serves as the Army JROTC Senior Army Instructor at Clinton High School, delivered a powerful and rousing address to those in attendance, drawing from his own experiences of having lost some of his dearest friends from his early service during the first stages of the Global War on Terror. The rawness of the emotion for Col. Pendell could still be heard in the momentary waver of his voice, even after more than 20 years since the first of those losses, and with that emotion the depth of pride he felt for their service and the sincerity of the honor paid to those who gave all were truly evident.

Following the address, the solemn recitation of the names of Sampson County’s multitude of fallen heroes by Veteran’s Council President Andrea Goodman and Vice President Curtis Tyndall Jr., were joined for the delivery of roses by the youth of Boy Scout Troop 133 to some of the county’s elder surviving veterans. This was a stark reminder that the tradition of service — and honoring and remembering the service of the fallen is itself a tradition that is instilled at an early age for many, and continues unbroken through the rest of life. Upon completion of this recitation and the placement of roses, Goodman and Tyndall carried out the traditional “Laying of Wreath” upon the memorial put up inside the old Armory for this purpose.

The ceremony was closed by a prayer from Chief Don Carter of the Coharie Tribe, himself a veteran and a pastor for many years in the Clinton area, wherein he gave thanks for being one of those that was able to come back home from his service, when so many others had not. These somber and heartfelt words were punctuated sharply by the report of the assembled veteran’s firing squad, their rifles’ speaking to offer a final salute to honor those that fell in service to this mighty nation and her many peoples.